Monday, April 20, 2009

Here's a little video recap I just put together of my favorite bites from inside the Lexus Grand Tasting tent at Pebble Beach. It was foodie nirvana - literally hundreds of the finest wine markers shoulder to chef coat with some of the most talented gastronomes in the country.

As I methodically worked my way around the giant white tent, I was pleasantly surprised to find the star chefs were not only present in the booths, in most cases they were the ones making and serving the food.

This gave the attendees a rare chance to hear what they were about to taste as described by the dishes creator. As you'll see in the video, while describing these offerings, most of the chefs had a twinkle in their eye that only shines through when you are truly enjoying what you're saying.

My favorite description was by Chris Cosentino, who created the ingenious "Liver and Kidney Pie" pictured here. Chris was beaming over every single component, and after one bite I knew why.

For the sake of time, and several star chefs' reputations, this video is not a complete catalog of the food, but a collection of my favorite bites. I thought it was going to be hard to decide on a favorite - that was until I tasted what Chef Mark Estee called a BLT. It was transcendent.

The little homemade English muffin topped with tomato gelée, pork belly, and romaine ice cream was simply amazing. It was a truly brilliant bite from concept to cocktail napkin.

In addition to the Grand Tasting covered here, I attended a couple demos by Chef Michele Richard (Chef Richard and Santa Claus have never been seen in the same room). They were a lot of fun, and I'll post more content this week as time allows.

I want to extend a special thanks to my friends at Foodbuzz who made covering this memorable event possible. For those of you who don't know about Foodbuzz yet, they're the ultimate social network for foodies, and I highly suggest signing up. Enjoy!

Oh man I'm dying over here. When I saw this event on Foodbuzz.com I totally wanted to go! Sucks my hubby had to work that weekend. Maybe next year I'll finally be able to make it out there. That looked like an awesome fun with lotsa lovely bites. Thanks for sharing with those of us who couldn't make it!

Hi, chef John! Great food. Do you think you could recreate this English muffin topped with tomato gelée, pork belly, and romaine ice cream? It would be great. Or could you make some that kind of ice cream?

I must register a dissent. What is portrayed in this video are intellectual constructs with food items as the medium -a playing with flavors and textures ala Charlie Trotter or Thomas Keller. Really good food is sustenance raised to the highest level through attention to taste, technique, and the use of first quality ingredients.It is this latter approach the keeps me returning daily to this website, for that is the essence of what Chef John does. The contrast with the celebrity chefs is all in his favor.One more dissent! The "BLT" shown here is not the "best ever." The best BLT consists of two slices of homemade bread slathered with mayonnaise that you just finished whipping up moments before; topped with good quality bacon, a red, ripe tomato from your august garden, and a leaf of lettuce from the same place- enjoyed sitting outside in your yard (with no celebrity chef within miles). I know this, Chef John knows this, and so do those who frequent this website. Case closed!

have you learned nothing from me? There is never only one "best ever!" I've personally had 7 BLT's that were the best ever. But I do agree about that part where you said I was better than them and their intellectual constructs.

Great video Chef John... I was fortunate enough to taste some of those dishes. I was there pouring my wines and got the chance to wander around tasting some great food and wines. Can't wait until next year.